Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is planning to reopen a majority of the state next week.
He announced Monday he will not extend his safer-at-home-order, which is set to expire on April 30.
“Our Economic Recovery Group is working with industry leaders around the clock so that some businesses can open as soon as Monday, April 27,” he said in a statement. “These businesses will open according to specific guidance that we will provide in accordance with state and national experts in both medicine and business.”
He said once the order expires, 89 of the state’s 95 counties will begin to open businesses.
The counties excluded, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Shelby and Sullivan, house the largest cities and are not overseen by Tennessee’s Department of Health. They have their own public health districts.
“While I am not extending the safer at home order past the end of April, we are working directly with our major metropolitan areas to ensure they are in a position to reopen as soon and safely as possible,” Lee said. “Social distancing works, and as we open up our economy it will be more important than ever that we keep social distancing as lives and livelihoods depend on it.”
It is unclear what types of businesses will be permitted to reopen.
Most state parks are scheduled to reopen Friday, CNBC reports.
The state's Department of Corrections also announced it would conduct a third round of mass testing in prisons after 150 inmates tested positive for the virus over the weekend.
The Tennessee National Guard also put up additional drive-thru testing sites.
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